Veronica Roth
712 citations

You think my first instinct is to protect you. Because you're small, or a girl, or a Stiff. But you're wrong. He leans his face close to mine and wraps his fingers around my chin. His hand smells like metal. When was the last time he held a gun, or a knife? My skin tingles at the point of contact, like he's transmitting electricity through his skin. My first instinct is to push you until you break, just to see how hard I have to press. he says, his fingers squeezing at the word break. My body tenses at the edge in his voice, so I am coiled as tight as a spring, and I forget to breathe.

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